Posted on 08/16/2008 11:59:35 AM PDT by XR7
LAKE FOREST, Calif. — When John McCain and Barack Obama appear on the same stage today, they will vividly demonstrate the reach that has made the Rev. Rick Warren among the most significant evangelists of his generation.
He's a megastar who leads the nation's fourth-largest church and reaches thousands of ministers through the Internet and crusades against poverty and AIDS. That globe-trotting work and his successful book — "The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" — puts him at the vanguard of a movement that inspires young, socially conscious Christians.
But his willingness to soft-pedal political issues once central to U.S. evangelicals, such as opposition to abortion, has opened him to criticism that he has strayed from his calling to spread the Gospel.
Today's forum also is a sign of religion's importance in the 2008 presidential campaign, and the emergence of a new style of evangelical leadership on the national stage that is not tied to a single party and has broadened its social agenda beyond that of the religious right.
"This is absolutely a changing of the guard, and it suggests that the new guard of the evangelical movement is able to generate the attention and focus of both parties," said D. Michael Lindsay, a sociologist at Rice University and author of "Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite."
Warren personally invited the two candidates — "friends of mine" — via their cellphones. His event at the Saddleback Church will be broadcast live on CNN and Fox News Channel and streamed on the Web. It has among its aims "helping the church regain credibility and encouraging our society to return to civility," he said.
It's likely that fans and critics will be watching closely...
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
3 wisest...
Petraus
John Lewis
Meg Whitman... Ebay
It’s perfectly fine if you loved his book, millions did... and it helped them; It’s okay if you attend his church.
But let those who have eyes see, those with ears hear, those with the internet do their research.
OT: Ummm... McCain, could you throw in Jesus or Paul or something.
Well, there's always bathtub gin :)
WHAT!????????
what was your failure?
did Obama get that question?
So far so good.
Yes - McCain gave 3 actual people - and no nonsense about his wife, or anything like that.
RW asks “What is your greatest moral failure?”.................
Was Obama asked about his greatest moral failure? I tuned in late.
Good answer on the marriage.
Yes. Drugs.
If Mc doesn’t bury himself worse.
How about closing the borders after 9/11.......
McCain is on fire.
I thought it was his greatest challege...?
yes. He said drinking and doing drugs.
Gin whats that made from ???
I know Vodka is from potatoes..
Obama did not get that question, I think.
McCain good so far.
What was Obama’s greatest moral failure? I missed it.
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